Hyatt Zilara Cancun Restaurants

All-inclusive resorts sometimes have the stigma of providing very cheap or low-quality food and drink. For this reason, finding all-inclusive resorts that provide good restaurant options are a must. I have found that the Hyatt Ziva and Zilara all-inclusive brands tend to provide nice quality food and beverage. I have visited several of these resorts (most recently the Hyatt Ziva Riviera Maya prior to the Zilara Cancun), and all have provided great food and beverage options to their guests. The Hyatt Zilara Cancun is no different in this regard. The following is a review of the Hyatt Zilara Cancun restaurants including all their choices, menus, dining experiences, and food quality.

An additional note, the restaurants at the Hyatt Zilara Cancun were mostly using the QR code menus made popular during the COVID-19 pandemic. While I tend to prefer printed menus, this means that the menus are accessible on the internet. A link to the menu webpage is provided here. I don’t know how long this link will stay active when more restaurants return to normal menus. Hopefully, it will be helpful for a little while though.

For more posts on the Hyatt Zilara Cancun, see the following:

1. Hyatt Zilara Cancun – Hotel Overview & Room Review
2. Hyatt Zilara Cancun – Restaurants (this post)
3. Hyatt Zilara Cancun – Bars
4. Hyatt Zilara Cancun – Amenities & Activities

Introduction

Without further ado, the Hyatt Zilara Cancun restaurants and my review of them are as follows:

Asiana

The first restaurant on our rundown is Asiana. This is an Asian-themed restaurant that opens only for dinner from 6:00 PM – 10:30 PM. Most of the dinner restaurants are located in a complex on the south side of the resort. Asiana is one of the restaurants located in this complex. As is typical of Asian-themed restaurants in the Hyatt Ziva and Zilara brands, there are two seating options available. Those sitting in traditional tables will be able to order from the entire menu. In addition, sushi and sashimi are available to those seated on the top level.

The other seating option is a teppanyaki table where a chef performs Japanese-show style cooking. Teppanyaki tables offer a much more limited menu that provides guests a choice of soup, meat, and dessert. The rest of the menu is set for this style of dining. Reservations are highly recommended for teppanyaki seating. Seatings occur at designated times, and the seats tend to fill up quickly. The show is a fun experience at night. While it’s a fairly typical show as far as teppanyaki/hibachi shows go, I still recommend trying to find an opportunity to dine at this Asiana experience.

During our recent visit, we opted for the teppanyaki table experience. The dinner started with a round of sushi. The selected sushi for all guests was very safe and included a Philly roll and a tuna roll. For those not familiar with sushi, these should be very approachable. For those (like myself) who enjoy sushi, these won’t be very exciting. The dining experience continued with either miso soup or Thai coconut milk soup. I prefer miso soup, so I ordered that. My wife ordered the Thai coconut milk soup. We believe that Asiana prepared both soups well.

At this point, the chef cooked the main course in front of the guests. Everyone had the option of tuna, salmon, beef fillet, chicken, or ribeye for the main course protein. In addition to the chosen proteins, all guests received their choice of white or fried rice and an assortment of grilled vegetables. The food was well prepared and tasted good; although, portions tended to vary in size widely. While not advertised, guests can pick multiple proteins for the main dish. If you go this route, Asiana cooks full portions of each protein and not a half and half portion of each.

Cantina La Adelita

Cantina La Adelita is a Mexican-themed restaurant that shares a space with Maria Marie. The Cantina is to the left of the restaurant as guests enter the building. This restaurant is only open for dinner, but it is somewhat of an outlier when it comes to the restaurants at the Hyatt Zilara Cancun. First, the Cantina has a wide variety of drinks available. These drinks include Mexican craft beer, cocktails, and a variety of specialty tequilas and mezcals. Unfortunately, the specialty liquors are an additional charge and are not included in the all-inclusive price.

The dinner menu at the Cantina consists of a set tasting menu. All visitors receive small portions of everything on the menu without the ability to pick and choose. There are often two portions of everything per person. The majority of the dishes were unique, artfully plated, and a fun way to enjoy a dinner. The experience of dining at the Cantina was a great way to enjoy a tapas style Mexican dinner.

In total, there were five different small plate courses. Dessert was not included in the base menu. However, guests can order something from the Maria Marie dessert menu if desired. The only downside to the experience was that because the plates were relatively small if you come in hungry you are likely to still be hungry at the end of the five course tasting. This restaurant is best enjoyed as a casual, light meal while partaking in a round or two of drinks.

Casa Del Café

Casa Del Café is the hotel lobby café at the Hyatt Zilara Cancun. This café is open from 6:00 AM until 10:00 PM. It is located right next to the main lobby bar making it a great place to grab a coffee, snack, or ice cream. With some very comfortable seating spread around the café, this is a relaxing place to come in the morning for a specialty coffee or to get some work done outside the room. In addition to coffee, the café serves small bites like croissants, muffins, danishes, and quiches. All of these items are served throughout the day. At the same time, guests may also be interested in the bite sized desserts, sandwiches, smoothies, and ice cream.

Personally, I don’t drink coffee so the draw of a café is always a little lost on me. However, I did enjoy the small bites in the café on occasion. Several evenings during our recent visit, we would enjoy the nightly entertainment. We would often stay at one of the tables in the lobby before, during, or after the show to enjoy drinks from the lobby bar. Small-bites and desserts were the perfect snacks to accompany the drinks. The location of the café is ideal for anyone spending time in the lobby. I have to imagine that it would even be better for those who enjoy coffee.

Chef’s Plate

The Chef’s Plate is a specialty restaurant located in the main restaurant complex at the Hyatt Zilara Cancun. Because the Chef’s Plate is a specialty restaurant, it always requires reservations. Unfortunately, it is also an extra charge unless you are a Hyatt Globalist elite member or are staying in one of the premium suites at the property. Chef’s Plate costs $75 per person. Hyatt Explorist elite members do get the perk of 2 for 1 pricing at the Chef’s Plate so the cost for those guests is $75 for two people. The Chef’s Plate sets itself apart by being a different dining and presentation experience. Approximately 12 – 14 guests all sit at one table and enjoy a six course set menu. The creations on the menu are very different and provide a unique culinary experience.

Having enjoyed a couple of these dining experiences before, I have to compare Chef’s Plate to those. First, it is surprising to find a dining option like this at an all-inclusive resort. However, as it isn’t included in the all-inclusive price, it doesn’t seem quite so special. While the food and presentation weren’t as elevated an experience as some of the restaurant concepts that I have been to before, I do believe it was some of the best quality cooking at the resort.

Finally, many of these types of restaurants put a lot into the show of cooking in an open kitchen while describing each culinary creation to the guests. Unfortunately, Chef’s Plate didn’t create a grand open kitchen space. That part of the show left a little to be desired. However, the service was very attentive and described the plates well. Overall, it was a nice experience, but I think that it didn’t quite live up to the $75/person cost. I think it’s worth going if you get the experience for free, and it’s probably worth it to Explorists who get the meal half off. For everyone else, I would consider skipping this option.

Maria Marie

Maria Marie is the last of the main dinner restaurants at the Hyatt Zilara Cancun. This restaurant is located in the main restaurant complex next to Cantina La Adelita and Asiana. It is open each night for dinner from 6:00 PM – 10:30 PM. This restaurant is a Mexican themed dining experience that has a resort upscale feel. Complete with white table clothes and an extensive menu of great Mexican food, this makes a perfect place to dress up a little and enjoy a dinner with your travel companions.

Some of the food available at Maria Marie includes creamy poblano peppers, rib eye tostadas, spinach and goat cheese salads, tortilla soup, grilled flank steak, plantain enchiladas, adobo shrimp, and lamb hidalgo style. Maria Marie also offers several desserts, but the star of the show is their Mezcal Souffle. The wait staff flambees the souffle table side so that diners get a nice show right before eating the dessert. I highly recommend ordering the souffle and an accompanying beverage of your choice to wrap up the night. Just be warned, preparing the souffle takes 20 minutes so order it early if you want to partake.

Punta Vista

Punta Vista is the open-air restaurant at the Hyatt Zilara Cancun that is located just off the pool deck. Most tables have great views of the resort pool, the beach, and the ocean making this restaurant a great way to enjoy a meal on a beautiful day. Punta Vista serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner throughout the day. Keep track of the time as the restaurant closes throughout the day when the meal is being switched. Punta Vista serves breakfast between 7:00 AM and 10:30 AM, lunch between 11:30 AM and 4:00 PM, and dinner between 6:00 PM and 10:00 PM.

Due to the limited options at the resort for breakfast and lunch, it is highly likely that guests will visit Punta Vista many times during their visit. In our case, we visited Punta Vista almost every day for lunch. Being able to enjoy an open air lunch without going far from the pool or beach allows for maximum relaxation while on vacation.

The breakfast consists of traditional American breakfast foods such as juices, smoothies, fruit plates, cereals, pancakes, waffles, omelets, and breakfast sandwiches. The breakfast spread isn’t as expansive as the Spice Buffet in the morning, but having breakfast above the ocean as the sun comes up can be very nice. Lunch at Punta Vista is very good and has a wide variety of options available. The menu includes items like ceviches, calamari, salads, soups, bacon wrapped shrimp, and fish tacos. There is enough of a variety in the menu that guests are able to order something different for about four days before they would need to overlap previous orders for some courses.

Finally, dinner at Punta Vista features a variety of fare (although the majority is standard American fare). Appetizers include beef carpaccio and mezza plates. The salads and soups include options like Greek salads, quinoa salads, and broccoli cream soups. The entrées are varied from salmon and lamb skewers to traditional American steak cuts like ribeye and New York strips. Again, the real star of the show is being able to enjoy a dinner while overlooking the beach and ocean. Because this was a regular spot for lunch, we didn’t go to Punta Vista for dinner curing our trip. I think it’s likely that most guests will do something similar unless they have a real long stay at the Hyatt Zilara Cancun.

Spice Buffet

The Spice Buffet is the main buffet at the Hyatt Zilara Cancun. Each Ziva and Zilara resort always has one buffet restaurant that is open all day long for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. This is the place to go if you are looking for the most options or trying to satisfy a crowd who are not agreeing on a type of food.

Personally, I found that Spice Buffet was the best place to go for breakfast in the morning. The breakfast spread was very large and allowed for some variety from day to day. The options always included a bread station with bagels, English muffins, sliced bread, croissants, etc… An omelet and egg station would prepare eggs any way that guests desired. Spice always put out a traditional Mexican breakfast spread as well as a number of traditional breakfast meats like bacon, sausage, ham, smoked salmon, thin sliced meats, etc… In addition, the breakfast options included a large number of cheeses, a smoothie bar, numerous fruits, and a yogurt and granola bar. To top it off, breakfast was always served with the guest’s choice of beverages including mimosas or bloody mary’s. Overall, breakfast was a great option at Spice as they always had what you wanted and there was no wait.

Spice served lunch and dinner as well, but I tend to prefer a seated service for dinner at the other restaurants on the property. I am sure that the food at Spice Buffet was good during these times, but we chose not to partake.

Habaneros

Habaneros is a semi-poolside restaurant serving traditional snack bar items. The menu was very limited and consisted of hamburgers, veggie burgers, chicken sandwiches, and a few different varieties of pizza. For sides, they offered bags of chips. That was the complete menu. There were no fries, other sandwiches, or beverages. Because of this extremely limited menu, we didn’t order anything at Habaneros.

I mentioned Habaneros as semi-pool side due to the odd location. Habaneros is located to the extreme north end of the Hyatt Zilara Cancun resort. With the limited hours, odd location, and lack of people going to the restaurant, I thought that Habaneros was not open for almost the entirety of our stay at the resort. The Hyatt Zilara Cancun would be well served to update Habaneros with a larger menu and advertise it a little more throughout the pool deck. The Habaneros pool bar at the Hyatt Ziva Riviera Maya was much better with a menu featuring fish tacos, chips and guacamole, and a variety of salads. Given the current situation, I would recommend going to Punta Vista or Spice for lunch unless you really want a burger on the pool peck.

Wrap-Up

Despite ending with a less than stellar restaurant option, the food choices at the Hyatt Zilara Cancun were very good overall. Because this Zilara resort isn’t co-located with a Ziva resort, the total number of options is more limited. I think the resort does well for a 4 – 5 night stay. Anything past that will have guests repeating restaurants for dinner. Many may choose to go off resort to not repeat dinners. While the Zilara Cancun is in a good location for that, it defeats the purpose of an all-inclusive in my mind.